A Hot Summer in the Cataract City: Why Niagara Falls Real Estate is Heating up
The buzz is back in Niagara Falls! Not only is real estate in Niagara Falls hot right now, just like it is everywhere, but tens of millions of dollars in public and private investments have also been made in the city’s downtown sector. The median home price in the Cataract City has risen more than twenty thousand dollars in eighteen months, homes on the market are sold in just a few days, and the community is on the upswing too. Now is the time to act! There has never been a more perfect time to invest in Niagara Falls real estate.
Even though it is sometimes the forgotten city in Western New York, Niagara Falls’ housing market is just as hot as Buffalo’s. In January of 2020, the median home price in Niagara Falls, NY was just $77,500. Eighteen months later, the median home price has risen more than twenty thousand dollars to $97,850, an increase in value of more than 25%. That’s great news for sellers looking to list their homes. Fortunately for buyers, the number of new listings each month has remained constant over the same period. Supply in the Niagara Falls housing market is not drying up. Those looking to buy better act quickly, though, as the median number of days a home spends on the market has shrunk in the past year to just ten days.
In addition to the currently hot housing market, Niagara Falls has received millions of dollars in public and private investments in the downtown sector. Just last month, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that Niagara Falls would be the fourth annual recipient of the state’s Downtown Revitalization Grant. The plan will provide more than ten millions dollars in state funding for projects in downtown Niagara Falls, including $1.1 million dollars for a new academic center and $1.5 million for the completion of Freedom Plaza and the Niagara River overlook, an indoor-outdoor space which ties directly into the Niagara River walking trail system. In the private sector, signs of new growth are everywhere. The recently completed mixed-use space at 616 Niagara street, which cost the Montante Development just over six million dollars, is just one of the new private investments in the downtown area and it features so much more than apartments.
The community is on the rebound and more attention is being paid to academics and startup businesses than any time in Niagara Falls’ history. The aforementioned 616 Niagara street complex houses TreC, an incubator space for startups looking for support and a place to grow. TreC’s creators aim to make Niagara Falls a hub for new Startups to complement the Falls’ tourism sector. Gig workers, like video content creators, writers and artists have also moved to the city. Affordable housing and fun activities to do outside work have made Niagara falls an attractive place for young, upwardly mobile professionals. Just three weeks ago, Francis Fernando, an agent at Red Door Real Estate, organized a bike ride through Niagara Falls using bicycles from Reddy Bikes bike-share, a sleek, modern addition to the streets of Western New York. The ride, which started outside the TreC incubator space, meandered its way through several Niagara Falls neighborhoods while our agents and friends discussed ways to continue to revitalize the city.
In all, Niagara Falls is on a comeback run not unlike Buffalo’s in the past fifteen years. The housing market is hot, that much is obvious. Houses are sold in ten days or fewer, home prices are on the rise, and more houses are being listed and sold each and every month. The community is on the upswing too, providing startups and students with the support they need to make Niagara Falls’ economy boom. There has never been a better time to invest in real estate in the Cataract City. So, what are you waiting for?
Median Sales Price of Niagara Falls Homes over time according to WNYREIS stats
Median Number of Days on the Market for Niagara Falls Homes
Number of New Listings each year in Niagara Falls
